Are “organic” and “natural” the same thing?

What is organic? What’s the difference between “organic” and “natural”? If you are confused, you’re not alone. Meg Moynihan, of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, can help you tell the difference. Ya, you betcha!

Wes Jackson Talks About the Connection Between Agriculture and Climate Change

Wes Jackson, president of The Land Institute, Salinas KS, will be speaking in Seattle, Tuesday, November 30, at the University of Washington in Kane Hall. In his presentation, Wes Jackson will discuss a future much different from the one we’re heading to now, one “where conservation becomes the consequence of food production.”

The consequences of agricultural industrialization include “topsoil erosion, dependence on fossil fuels, toxic soil and water, an explosion in nitrogen fertilizers and downstream dead zones.” We hope good food will also be another consequence.

Putting Seed to Soil: Andrew Stout, Full Circle Farm, Carnation WA

Full Circle Farm is located less than 30 miles east of Seattle in one of the agricultural protection zones and is shielded from the pressure of surrounding residential development. Run by Andrew Stout and his wife, Wendy Munroe, Full Circle Farm is a 400-acre farm comprised of several locations in the Snoqualmie River basin.

Growing Italian Tomatoes with Character: Jerry Pipitone, Pipitone Farm

Jerry Pipitone grows organic “stone fruit” (apricots, peaches, nectarines, and plums, as well as tomatoes and garlic on a small farm near the Columbia River in Rock Island WA. They also make pepper, garlic, apricot, peach and plum spreads and dry apricots. “Up close and in person,” he describes some of the Italian and Russian tomatoes that he grows.

Carolyn Steel Tells How Food Shapes Our Cities

Every day, in a city the size of London, 30 million meals are served. But where does all the food come from? Architect Carolyn Steel discusses the daily miracle of feeding a city, and shows how ancient food routes shaped the modern world.

Food is a shared necessity — but also a shared way of thinking; looking at food networks offers an unusual and illuminating way to explore how cities evolved.

Lindsay Barbieri, Finnriver Farm

Lindsay Barbieri, farm crew, tells us about Finnriver Farm, a 33-acre organic family farm and artisan cidery located along a restored salmon stream located off Center Road, in the rural Chimacum Valley, a traditionally agricultural region on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.

Engineering an Organic Farm: Crown S Ranch

Jennifer Argraves, Crown S Ranch, talks about the farm that she and her husband, Louis Sukovaty, own and manage. Jennifer tells us about how they raise and market beef cattle, pigs, sheep, turkeys, broiler chickens, and eggs.